Indonesia to Strengthen STEM Education at New University of the Republic of Indonesia (URI) to Become Technologically Advanced Nation

The University of the Republic of Indonesia or URI will strengthen science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. The government is preparing the new campus to catch up on technology and reduce dependence on other countries. Head of the Special Development and Investigation Control Agency Aries Marsudiyanto said President Prabowo Subianto paid attention to the development of human resources towards Indonesia Emas 2045. "It is impossible that we have such abundant natural wealth, but human resources are low," said Aries at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Thursday, July 23. According to Aries, the wealth of natural resources does not automatically make Indonesia master technology. Aries gave an example of the ability to make planes and cars which he considered still lagging behind. Therefore, URI will pay attention to the STEM field, an abbreviation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. "Thus, this nation will master its own technology," he said. Aries said he had discussed the development of technology with 20 rectors of state universities. The discussion also touched on efforts to make Indonesia more independent and not just a market for other countries' products. "Don't be influenced or become a market by other nations," he said. Although STEM is one of the concerns, URI does not only open study programs in that field. The government also prepares health and medical education. Aries assessed that the number of doctors in Indonesia is still insufficient, especially in rural areas. He said the doctor's ratio was around 0.47 per 1,000 residents in urban areas and around 0.27 in rural areas. However, Aries did not explain the source of the data in detail. He left the explanation regarding the student admission system and the technical implementation of URI to the URI Governor. Source: VOI English